Davina McCall's husband has revealed that "hundreds of men" stop her for the same reason, calling it one of the "nicest things" he's seen. Celebrity hairstylist Michael Douglas and Davina are often stopped by members of the public when they're out, given she is one of the UK's most recognisable public figures.
Michael says he welcomes it in certain circumstances, namely when people stop Davina to offer their thanks for a book she wrote about women's health. In 2022, she published Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring, which went on to be a Sunday Times bestseller and winner of The British Book Awards 2023 Overall Book of the Year.
Men approach Davina to say thanks
Michael says he often sees evidence of the book's success in the men who approach Davina to talk about it. He shared the revelation while speaking to men's health specialist Dr Jeff Foster about menopause and how men can best support their partners through it.
Calling himself "empathetic", Michael said he could "see how difficult" it is for women going through the menopause and that it can be accompanied by "sadness". He stressed that men must be prepared to make "concessions".
Men are changing, says Michael
He told the Man Alive podcast: "One of the things I've loved the most is men coming up to Davina in the street. I'm a bit like, 'Hold it, mate'. And they come up, and they say, 'My wife gave me your Menopausing book, and I read it, and I sobbed'.
"And they say, 'Thank you so much. You've saved my marriage', you know? And that's one of the nicest things I've seen, men coming up and doing that, and that's happened a lot. Well, the book's only three years old."
"But I was amazed to see, not just like two or three men, hundreds of men over the course of a month or two months come up to her and say the same thing. So I think men are changing."
Davina's menopause campaign
Davina has spent years speaking out to help end the stigma around menopause. She fronted Channel 4's Sex, Myths and the Menopause in 2021, before presenting Davina McCall: Sex, Mind and the Menopause the following year.
In March, she threw her support behind a Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) campaign urging greater awareness of the connection between menopause and mental health. She said the impact can be "devastating".
Davina, an RCPsych Honorary Fellow, said at the time: "Some women sail through the menopause unscathed. But some don't, and the impact on their mental health can be devastating and have a huge impact on their lives and their relationships."
"Lack of knowledge and ingrained stigma still prevent open conversations between doctors and patients, in the workplace and among friends and family, leaving women without the crucial support they need at an incredibly vulnerable time in their lives."
"And it's just not acceptable. Why are women still fighting to be heard?"
